asgardmeridiem | EVENT LOG: DUDE, WHERE'S MY SOUL?

Who: EVERYONE going on the Mimisbrunnr trip
What: the Dude, Where's my Soul? mingle log
When: Days 514-516 ( Sept. 23-28 )
Where: Salt Side and Deep City
Rating: PG-13. Anything higher than that should be taken to a private log, please!

Day 514 ( Sept. 23/24 )

An NPC post will go up explaining the new information the gods have collected and the purpose of this mission. Any willing Travellers will be invited to go on this excursion to Deep City; as it's an allied territory, they will be able to take the train and reach the oceanside kingdom by early evening.

However, upon arrival to the native village of Salt Side, it will be immediately apparent that things on the coast are not as peaceful and calm as they once were. With the collapse of Yggdrasil, the entire worldscape has been changing, and the ocean has not been immune. From the looks of it, Salt Side was recently hit with a tsunami and the native humans and elves are only halfway through rebuilding their once boisterous community. The nearby water is still restless and overactive, lapping aggressively at the coast though it isn't threatening to overflow at the moment.

When the Lady of the Sea comes to receive the Travellers, she will be generally standoffish and cold. The mermaids believed their kingdom to be free of Ragnarok's graces, deep below the ocean surface as they are, but time has proven otherwise and they aren't pleased about it. She will warn them that the ocean is not pleased and that they must wait until morning to make their venture into Mimisbrunnr, unless they'd like to try their luck with the ocean's newfound darkness.

They'll be given food and shelter in one of the native buildings for the night, where the natives will be weary and some may even be frightened; when asked, they'll say that it isn't safe and it's best the Travellers be on with their business quickly. Curiouser and curiouser ...

Day 515 ( Sept. 25/26 )

With the sun high in the sky and bidding safer tidings, Ran will give each of the Travellers a hemp necklace that will allow them to breathe, speak, and move freely in the water. She will remind them again to tread carefully, lest they provoke the depths of the water; what exactly this means isn't clear yet, but the mermaids will not be pleasant or friendly as they guide the Travellers to the bottom of Mimisbrunnr and the entrance to the sacred cave. The impression is clear: the sooner they leave, the better.

Detailed information of what they'll see can be found here, only the serenity of the ocean floor will be lost to eerie silence and a near tangible tension. The Sea Serpent is nowhere to be seen - for now. Once inside the caves, the Travellers will feel a gradually building pressure and a distant ringing in their ears, not strong enough to be painful but distinct enough to make itself known. The air will be cold and still, and though they will be able to breathe freely, it may leave some with a vague aching - sadness, maybe, or pain.

When they reach their destination, the voice that graces them within their chests and their minds is lyrical, but no longer warm and gentle. It is cold and tired, and speaks without words:

Ask.

The Travellers will be able to ask a single question, either individually or as a group, and they will receive a single answer before the pressure will increase to near-painful and they will feel an urgent ushering to leave.

Past the cavern's entrance, the Travellers will immediately see that the ocean has violently burst into life. It has grown darker significantly, and the water stirs in small pockets of whirlpools and currents threatening to pull any that come too close into the whirlpool of Mimisbrunnr. The mermaids will be frantic, some abandoning their mission to assist the Travellers while the rest desperately work to drag them back to the surface. Those that lose their grip on the mermaids or get caught in a current will drown within seconds, so hold tight and pray for deliverance.

Closer to the surface, it will be easier to see what's causing the ocean's disturbance: the massive Sea Serpent is agitated and crashing through the waters almost haphazardly, whipping things about with its enormous tail and charging forward blindly. Anyone too close to it may be clipped and dragged back to the ocean floor with no hopes of reaching the surface. On the coast, the Travellers will find the natives and the mermaids in a panic as the waves begin to climb over Salt Side once more.

As per the player poll, the Travellers will overall pool their efforts into attempting to save the Sea Serpent from its bid for destruction. For this part of the battle, it will mostly entail trying to get everyone out of the water safely, staying on the defensive against the raging water and the haphazard lashing out of the Serpent's body, and getting all of the Travellers and natives alike to bunker down for the night. As the option was offered and quite a few were onboard for it, it might also be prudent for a few of the Travellers to attempt contacting their gods for backup! For now, though, it's best to shield yourself against the tides before attempting to wade in unprepared.

Day 516 ( Sept. 27/28 )

The Serpent's raging continues through the night, leaving the shore a mess by the time the sun rises - but reinforcements will arrive in the form of a band of human and elven natives lead by the god Jormungand. The Travellers will have to work together with each other and their allies to accomplish a single goal: chase the Sea Serpent onto the land.

They'll each be given new hemp necklaces to allow them to work underwater again, and they will have to band tightly together to keep from being swept away by the currents and the Serpent's thrashing. Those remaining on land can grab the Serpent's attention by attacking directly and pulling back to designated vantage points, where the natives will have as much rope and netting laid out to attempt a sort of capture. Jormungand will join in the fighting, donning the form of his own slightly smaller serpent, but he will need the Travellers to work with him to see this task into completion!

It'll take the better half of the day, but eventually, they will succeed in dragging the Serpent onto shore and securing it down. It will continue to thrash and struggle, but it will come accompanied with a miserable keening that couldn't be heard over the thundering of the waves during the battle. Closer inspection will show a cascade of open wounds along the Serpent's sides, burns and gashes and rocks embedded in its flesh; the changing of the ocean's surface affected all its inhabitants, not just the mermaids, and the Sea Serpent's agitation comes as a direct result of distress and pain both.

The Travellers will have to work together with the elves to heal the creature of its wounds, and throughout the process, its struggling will die down into grateful compliance. The mermaids will remind them all that the Serpent is not meant to live on land and that they must work quickly to return it to its home, so anyone not assisting in the healing process can still help out by dousing the Serpent's body in seawater to keep it cool and wet. It'll be a huge project, so work together and work fast!

By the time the sun has set, the Serpent will be nearly entirely healed, and it will take one great sweep out from under the nets ( almost as though it could have done so the entire time … ) before crashing back into the ocean and disappearing into its depths. The ocean surface will be still and tranquil for the first time in many days, and the natives will be profoundly grateful. Even the mermaids will be inspired, taking the scant few minutes they can don their human forms to thank the Travellers with elaborate jewelry made of decorative shells and precious gems, all strung together with the same hemp that allowed them free movement beneath the water. These gifts won't work in the same manner, but they will protect them from being soaked in rain or flooding, making them a useful piece of armour to have on hand during times of need.

Ran will give the Travellers her final thanks and tell Jormungand to inform the King of the Mermaids' full alliance with Asgard; as they have shown mercy and respect for the ocean and her children, when the time comes, they will gladly fight beside the gods and their Travellers.

[ OOC NOTES: This is the mingle log for the Dude, Where's My Soul? event. To plot out interactation with any of the NPCS ( Ran, Jormungand, or the voice in Mimisbrunnr ), feel free to snag the NPC handler or one of the mods and we'll get you connected. Please put [OPEN/CLOSED] along with the time and location in the title of your comment. Let us know if you have any questions! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I could, I suppose.

[It wouldn't be the first time he's looked in on things, after all. Or been a guide, for all that he knows very well that he hasn't the slightest idea of what might be lurking under the surface of the water.]

Is that what you're thinking of doing, or did you have a question to ask?

Aye, well, like ye said, there's only so many questions that'd be relevant.

[And there's other people who would be better suited to come up with those. He's still intending on going, however, and after a moment he shrugs.]

So no, I've not got one. But I've a friend who I think likely does, and he's the sort that needs someone to look after him. Still not sure I care much for the idea of going down there, but for him I'll do it.

Of course there are. It'd be only to be expected.

[They aren't exactly his questions to ask though. Someone's, yes, but they certainly aren't his.]

I wonder if Alice is going.

[It's asked more of himself than of Jamie, but he isn't likely to mind if Jamie were to comment.]

[It's a good thing he likely won't mind, then, because that name is a familiar enough one that it does get him to comment - but it also gets him to smile a bit, because he likes Alice. Both Alices, actually.]

Alice? Oh, hey, ye know her too! Which one of her have ye met, then?

Why, both of them. And a third besides, as long as one counts Alices from elsewhere.

[Neither of the ones here are the one he knows best, even for all the time he's spent in Asgard itself. But together they manage to be enough of an almost-Alice to make things worthwhile in the long run.]

Oh! I'd not realized. Don't see why Alices from elsewhere wouldn't count. Especially since you're the one who knows her.

[And may possibly be from his world, if he doesn't miss his guess.]

Wee Alice and I live in the same house, actually, although I've not been home a lot as of late. Probably why I've missed ye if you've come over.

A cat comes when he wants to, instead of when he's wanted. So perhaps you have. Or perhaps I've only ever come to other places.

[Places that aren't the house where Alice lives, anyway. He's been around the city itself, at the very least, but that hardly means he needs to have been everywhere.]

EVENT LOG: DUDE, WHERE'S MY SOUL?

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